Three sisters comment on Indianapolis restaurants and other local food venues

Saturday, January 21, 2012

Mackenzie River Pizza Company. Huh?

I can never figure out the name of this restaurant, Mackenzie River Pizza Company, located on 82nd Street in the former location of Adobe Grill. It has too many nouns for one thing, but anyway I thought I would give it a try for the second time with my husband, kids, and two family friends. The first time we visited, we were less than impressed and had had lousy service. This is part of a small chain out of Montana that hoped to introduce "gourmet pizza" to its locals. Supposedly, the owner of the restaurant in Indianapolis is the son of the creator making it less of a franchise? One thing I can say about this place is it is very kid friendly providing containers of goldfish crackers to amuse them as well as a kid-friendly menu with crayons. They seated our large group in a nice and large wooden booth. The decor is very cowboyish, wooden, and oddly includes white Christmas lights here and there. Ironically, we had as our server the identical twin of the server we had last time, but this twin was the opposite of his brother having all the good attributes and providing wonderful service! We ordered a very exotic pizza from their interesting options - one side Thai with mandarin oranges and peanut sauce and another Hawaiian with its barbeque sauce on the side. We had chicken quesadillas with an avocado cream sauce for an appetizer. Other items ordered included the Thai salad, a chicken chili, and a half- rack of ribs. We finished it off with an apple cobbler, ice cream, and 6 spoons! Everything except the dessert was mammoth in size. I noted a moldy flavor on the Thai side of the pizza - perhaps the cheese that was not so fresh? Otherwise, everything else including the salad was freshly made. The exotic pizza was interesting and for the most part well liked. The chicken chili and ribs were standard fair. We did note that things in general tended to have more spicy heat than most American dishes. The apple cobbler, though good, had been sitting on its cast iron skillet for so long it was gray on the bottom and tasted metallic. The kids loved their macaroni and cheese with its scattered cheddar cheese goldfish on top. It was served with a nice side of mandarin oranges and canned pineapple. We did like the fact that the menu had items to please all and was varied. This restaurant at the end of a plaza has a great location with one of the few quiet places at Keystone at the Crossing. The outdoor seating nestled along the woods should prove to be pleasant in the summer.

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Rating Scale

Each restaurant/food venue is given a score from 1-10 (1 is the worst, 10 the best) in various categories: atmosphere, service, price, presentation of food, food quality, and then our overall impression. At the end of the text summary, there may be a Listen Up section, written directly to the restaurant owners.

About Me

I and my two sisters have a passion for food. We significantly differ by age, where we live, and our approach to life. I am an overly negative East coaster. I like my foods "pure", organic, and am somewhat of a food snob. My oldest sister Corrin tends to be optimistic and is as happy with a little Debbie Cake as brioche! My middle sister lies somewhere in between our two extremes. Each of us has extensively traveled, living in many different locations and honing our palates. Ironically, we all landed in or near Indianapolis and we have struggled with the local restaurant scene. Our aim is to chronicle our food experiences in and around the town. We also may venture out of town to review other restaurants. If you are like us and live to eat, come along!